Eyes of the Past
by Angle of Death
Summary: The year after the Potter gang graduates, a blind girl attends Hogwarts, unaware of what dangers her unknown past could cause her and others. But is she the only one with a secret past, not even the wisest know...
1. Prologue

Ok, before we start I better do the whole copyright thing.I don't nor will I ever own any of Mrs. Rowling's characters, (i.e. most of the professors in this particular story) however I do claim right to all my characters (i.e. ones you don't recognize from and of Mrs. Rowling's books # 1-4 and side thingies), those characters include, Danah, Shatend Baenre, Drake, Linsha, Vierna, and the DADA teacher. Most of the last names I didn't come up with on my own, I borrowed them from the Forgotten Realms series, another wonderful selection of books, anyway on with the show. PS this is the only time I am typing this cause I am saying now this covers anything I post in this story, Ok getting of the soap box and on with the show. AoD  
  
  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
Darkness shrouded her vision and pain erupted behind her eyes as she fell swirling to the ground, her body lurching up as she landed. As she struggled to stand, while trying to ignore the blinding pain in her eyes, a voice spoke enchanting words from behind, calling upon his powers as atonement for her crime. Her skin started to feel hot, irritatingly at first, and then it exploded as if the fires from hell had decided to engulf her. "I won't scream! I won't give him the pleasure," her mind yelled. And although logic told her she should be dead by now she had known when the fire was first sent on her it was not real. While the fire wasn't real, the pain was. "I won't scream for him," she yelled aloud this time "No? Well we will see about that," The voice whispered Her body begged her to tell him to stop but her mind held on to one last hope. She sent her mind deep into her soul. Slowly the fire seemed to be extinguished, her body sighed relief as her soul sent cool water over her body canceling out the all pain. Well. almost all. Her eyes still burned only it was of a foreign nature. The voice saw her body sigh and knew somehow she had avoided his power he yelled in rage and reached deep within his spirit for his most powerful magic. As he started his incantation agony grasped his body, causing his magical defense mechanism to send him home. Raising his fists to the sky he shouted, "NOOO!" As suddenly as he had come he was gone. She knew he was gone because the whole time behind him there was a loud roaring and now it was gone, she didn't know how but she was glad it was. The pain behind her eyes intensified yet she fought against it and opened her eyes. All she saw was blackness. 


	2. The Blind One

A sharp whistle pierced through the air interrupting Danah's thoughts. Turning her head she walked towards the train. Hogwarts express. The train would take her on her first step towards her destiny. Carefully, so as not to make the raven on her shoulder lose balance, Danah began pulling her trunk towards the back of the train. Lost in her thoughts she didn't notice the boy walking towards her until the raven, Drannor, cackled. "Excuse me", the boy said squeezing past her. Drannor watched him go, glaring at the boy's back. The raven considered flying after the boy to get a better look at the train and the people to be encountered later. However, at that moment Danah turned off the aisle, into an empty room. Sighing she sat down and spoke to the raven, "He looked no older than me. Did you get anything from him?" Nothing but excitement and a little bit of wonder when he looked at us the bird answered telepathically. Ravens were known in the wizard world to be able to sense emotions and also magic strength, ability. The girl only knew of her bird's power to feel others emotions, she used them to her every advantage. She nodded and took out her black robes. As the train pulled cheerfully from the station she slipped into her robes and set the bird on a temporary perch. Drannor settled down for a nap when Danah pulled out her small black book. He knew she was going to spend the whole train ride trying to improve her vision, if it could be called that. Two years ago, when she had almost been killed in a magical battle, she had lost her eyesight, she was blind. His mistress did not know how she had lost her eyesight, she couldn't remember the battle, but he did. He, Drannor, had come to her at the bidding of the earth and helped her get along for a few months until she had discovered her second sight. It was not really a sight, when she had started out it was just different colors of black, gray, or white moving. Gradually the shapes had taken their true form, or at least they had taken on enough characteristics that she could almost see again during the day, but at night little was visible to her. That's where he came in, along with helping her with different colors, not that colors appealed to her much anymore. The raven also helped her read writings outside her little black book. Telepathically the raven would read words or passages she was unable to. He would tell her telepathically where to watch her step or when something, that was invisible to her even in the light, was ahead. Just like her sight was limited so was her telepathic ability. She could only "talk" to him when she was completely emotionless. It had been a lot easier when she was young because her only feeling was fear, but once that was conquered, she could "talk" to him. Danah was not aware of it but he too had limits. He could only "talk" to her for a total of fifteen minutes before having to rest for thirty or more. If he forced himself to exceed his time limit all his magical as well as non-magical abilities became stretched, sometimes his abilities would fad for long periods of time, after breaking his limit. This caused his thoughts to her to always be short and to the point. Although his duty was over he had chosen to stay with Danah because he felt fascinated by her and all she had accomplished. She intrigued him, and that's all that he believed needed to be said as to why he stayed with her. Knowing his mistress would read the book the whole train ride he settled down for a long nap. Danah looked at the book in front of her, Images of Egufer, and tried to concentrate on the story. Egufer was no ordinary book even by wizard standards. The pictures moved and seemed alive but beyond that the book its self was alive, stories in the book changed all the time, it seemed at will. Sometimes she was able to finish only a portion of the story before it would change to a new one. What was even more irritatingly marvelous about the book was that the same story never reappeared. This book has helped me so much Danah thought. For reasons unknown to her, she couldn't remember where she had found it. Pictures in the book changed color depth and size forcing her to exercise seeing details with her second sight. Words in the book changed fonts or texture depending on how she was reading it, by sight or touch. Today though, it didn't seem to be helping her. Perhaps I am just too anxious, she thought to herself but knew that wasn't the case. The sight hadn't improved in at least a week. Looking up she saw Drannor sleeping on his perch. He had helped her too, not only with her handicap but also helping her cope with the fact that she didn't know anything about her past. He had always been there, but had allowed her to grow into her own, letting her learn from experience. Drannor was her best friend and, even if she hadn't been able to talk to him and get an answer, she would always consider him a best friend. Although sometimes she wondered and felt like he was hiding something of great importance from her, but she never questioned his judgments. Danah had learned to trust him with her life. A soft knock came from the compartments door just as she was starting a new story because the one she was reading previously changed on her in the blink of an eye. Silently she cursed the book before the door opened. An old lady pushing a cart came into view. "Would you like anything from the cart, miss?" the elder asked "Yes, of course" Danah replied after recognizing several tasty looking wizard treats. She paid for her box and sat back down to enjoy them. While she was sucking down the juice she had purchased, Drannor awoke and flew over to her shoulder. Cackling, he nipped at her earring. "Alright already, impatient bird!" She scolded him while handing over his seeds and a piece of chocolate. She continued, "I have learned to deal with my disability and to trust your judgment, but you, sir must learn some patience or manners or something! Because I can't keep letting you do this. So it's up to you to be patient and respectful, at least at meal time." Through the whole lecture Drannor sat comfortably on her shoulder and ate his seeds, listening to the approaching footsteps. They seemed to be going from compartment to compartment, while stopping for a brief time at each one before continuing to the next. The steps sped right past by one room, though and went to the next, breaking the pattern. That in itself puzzled the bird. Humans confused and frustrated the bird but this was abnormal for even them. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, subsequently followed by the entrance of a dark haired boy with hazel eyes to match, walked in. "Hello, we were never introduced. I bumped into you in the hallway, remember?" he said taking a seat next her stash of sweets, across from her. "Yes, I remember. I'm Danah. Who would you be?" "Oh yes, how rude of me. My name is Cole McNeal", the boy replied sticking a handful of jellybeans into his mouth. Fighting back the urge to giggle she spoke to him, " Might I ask why you're in my compartment?" "Oh.well I wanted to introduce myself to you", he replied, shoveling more candy into his mouth. "And you supposed the easiest way to do this would be to take my food?" she grinned at him. Blushing he sat down the half-eaten licorice stick and grinned back sheepishly. A loud cackle interrupted the silence and Cole jumped, turning to see a blur of black fly by his head. The blur landed on Danah's shoulder. She looked over at the avian animal perched upon her shoulder and, seeing the glimmer in his eye, she sighed while handing him more seeds, which he accepted gratefully. Cole's mouth fell open as he saw that it was a raven of death black with silver eyes. "That's.that's a raven!" He stuttered in shock "Yes. He is", she answered not taking notice of Cole's look of awe and fear. "With silver eyes!" "I suppose he does." " Danah! You own a raven! And not just any raven. It has silver eyes! Ravens can't be trained and are never trusted especially ones with silver eyes.that's the mark of a raven with magic powers," he raged. At this Drannor looked up and glared at Cole with a strange intensity. Danah looked up and shook her head in disagreement "Drannor is not a pet, he is my friend. I didn't find him he found me when.." realizing what she was about to say she stopped. "But silver eyes would explain why he can."she stopped again and winced as Drannor gripped her shoulder hard. "He what?" Cole persisted "Nothing" she said firmly, ending the conversation, but noting to ask the raven about it, later when they were alone again. Shrugging, Cole grabbed some more candy and popped them one at a time into his mouth placing the information she had told him in his memory. He made a note to ask her later about Drannor. Seeing her eyes staring blankly at him, he decided to start up a new conversation. "What house do you want to be in?" "What house?" She repeated, puzzled "Yeah, what house Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Slytherin?" "Oh .ummm. What house do you want to be in?" "Well, most of my family has been in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, so I guess one of those. But you never know, I could be put in any, even Slytherin," he replied while examining a jellybean before popping it into his mouth. "But I don't think I will go to Slytherin because, well, I'm not like them .at all." "Not like them?" Danah asked, now curious about the houses of Hogwarts. "No, I'm not, they are usually cunning and clever with ripe brains and 'indifferent air' as my Grandmother used to say about them and everything they do," he said looking up at her with an almost bewildered expression. How could she not know anything about the best wizard school in Europe? It just didn't make any sense unless.yes of course that must be it. Non-magic people raised her. Based on this reasoning, Cole decided to inquire about her family as a change of subject since it was obvious she didn't know much about Hogwarts. Instead he ended up telling her all about his family, "My grandmother was a pureblood witch, but then she met my father's father, whom was a Muggle for several generations except for a great-uncle who wasn't talked about until he met my grandmother. Now my mother's family, on the other hand, was a half and half! I mean right down the middle her mum's side was Pureblood and her father's was Muggle since the beginning of time. My great-great-great grandfather was a." "Why do you talk about every one in the past, Cole?" Danah softly interrupted the story, already knowing the answer. He fidgeted in his seat and the answered hesitantly, "They are all dead.my grandfather on my father's side died and shortly after my grandparents on my mum's side were killed in a magic accident. A few years later my parents were both murdered and I started living .with my grandmother." here his voice faded off and she watched him intently, silently pushing him on. "My grandmother died last year.she was the only person who knew me and I didn't even really know her." he broke off again and Danah decided not to push it, so she handed Drannor more seeds and offered chocolate to Cole. He smiled up at her and then inquired, "What about you?" "I don't know anything about my family. I raised myself with Drannor's help." She shrugged as she spoke, picking at the remaining candy. There was a silence between the two. Neither looked up until a sudden sharp bell made all three jumped. Drannor shook his feathers in irritation that the bell had startled him and flew over to his perch to skulk. Cole laughed when he saw Drannor unnerved and then stood. "I had better go change into my robes. That bell means that we are close to the school." Danah nodded and watched him go, hoping she would be placed in the same house as this boy who had befriended her. After he left, she smiled a rare smile and began putting away her things. Glancing outside she noticed it had gotten dark, thus impairing her vision further. A few minutes later, another bell rang and a voice came overhead announcing that all passengers were to get off. Although worried about her stuff, she left it where it was and whistled to Drannor who fluttered to her shoulder as she walked by. "Do you think the house choice will affect how I work and what I learn?" Danah questioned the raven. Against his better judgment of how much time he had , he answered, No, the house just signifies where you will stay and who your friends are. "So if I am in the same house as Cole, but quicker to learn then him I won't have to worry about being held back because I am in a bad house?" Of course not, I mean the Headmaster may not be the best person in my book from when I knew him, but he would. "Wait. wait. you know the Headmaster?" she stopped walking to the dismay of those behind her, who thought she was a loony talking to herself, to ask. If a raven could have looked stricken and stifled, he would have to all eyes around. Luckily, he was not forced to explain himself because presently a voice called out over the students. "First years over here if you would, please," it was sharp and commanding so none dared argue when the owner of the voice lead them over to several boats and told them to get on with no more than five to a boat. The voice took a seat in its own boat and as soon as all the students were in, a hand waved making the boats floated forward. All looked around to see what was making the boat go except Danah, who had been told by Drannor magic was very strong around the boats and she had put the two together, and a few others who had been told about it by parents. A heavy mist covered what they assumed to be a lake, making seeing ahead very difficult. Quietly each boat erupted in a bustle of curious whispers, some filled with fear. While the students whispered among themselves, the school appeared in front of them. Danah was, at first, the only one to notice. She was left with a feeling of wonder, but before she was able to discern or question Drannor as to why, the others spotted it effectively breaking the spell. Her peers had the same reaction, minus the familiarity she had felt. They piled off the boats and onto the deck, most still in awe. The robed figure lead the way to a bronze-colored door that swung open at the children's approach. The figure melded into the shadows, disappearing without drawing the students' attention, though Drannor took notice and made silent note of it. A woman advanced on them and spoke, "I am Professor McGonagall and would like to welcome you to Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on behalf of the staff. Now if you will follow me, we will proceed to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony." suddenly she spotted Danah. Nodding briskly she hurried off leaving the students to follow in her wake, puzzled. When they arrived at the Great Hall, they didn't get a good look at it because they were behind a curtain, but they could hear voices on the other side. The professor reappeared and told them to approach the stool when their name was called and put the sorting hat on their head. It would sort them accordingly. She then disappeared and began calling names off a sheet of endless parchment. Danah heard Cole's name and watched him approach the stool, knowing he was going over everything in his head, and worrying he wouldn't make his grandmother proud. Cole carefully placed the worn hat on his head and was more than taken aback to hear it speak to him. "Hello.Cole is it? Yes.well, I see you have a history of wizards and Muggles. Good mixture if you ask me.Ah yes, I remember your name, your grandmother was a great..." "You.knew my grandmother?" "Why of course.I sorted her, she was in Gryffindor.you would do well there. or maybe you want to go to Ravenclaw? They could help you on your way." "Gryffindor? But all my relatives were in ." "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff? Not so. Your grandmother and now you will be in GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted the name aloud and one of the tables cheered loudly. Cole walked over to it and the sorting continued. Danah heard her name called and as she walked out towards the stool, she felt Drannor leave her. Panic welled up in her and she fought it down long enough to yell to him, Drannor, please come back But the raven flew towards the magic ceiling and instead of answering her question, watched her go towards the old hat and put it on. From his perch on a gargoyle high in the rafters he watched her be sorted. When Drannor didn't answer, she felt betrayal at first. However, the following realization that he wanted her to do this alone changed her mind from hatred to concentration. No one must know she was blind. Danah walked confidently up to the hat and feeling slightly foolish she sat down and set the idem atop her head. At first she thought something had gone wrong but then she was shocked when she heard the hat talking to her.without vocally speaking a word. "Ah.the Headmaster told me about you.where to put you though? Hmmm.Ravenclaw would be appropriate seeing as how that's where your mother was, but then again your grandmother was in Gryffindor. You would do well in Hufflepuff, even without the background. In Gryffindor you could go so far and Ravenclaw would welcome your talents, with Hufflepuff your life would be easy.too easy perhaps.hmmm. where to put the blind one called Danah. Any requests?" When she kept her thoughts quite easily, thanks to years of training with Drannor, he continued, "Well if you have no requests I will have to put you in." he stopped, as if puzzled. The hall was getting slightly impatient; the hat hadn't taken this long to sort anyone since Harry Potter. Most of the students, and all the teachers knew what had happened do to the hat's long conversation with Harry Potter. Several seventh year students, who had known Harry and heard the story, Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevy included, shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe I should put you with the house of your father.after all he turned out to be great. maybe. yes, you will be in.SLYTHERIN!" Amidst all the cheering, four people aside from the hat noticed he had spoken his decision almost hesitantly. One of them was the dark figure that had lead the first years up the stairs. Several students also noticed that the new Slytherin stood on the stage for a minute before stepping towards her designated table. Fewer still, noticed the raven that had silently landed on her shoulder before she had walked towards the Slytherin table. Danah was warmly welcomed to the Slytherin table, it was always good to have another join your ranks. The sorting finished very quickly after Danah was sorted. The Headmaster stood up and began his yearly speech, but several students noticed the usual sparkle in his eyes wasn't as bright as usual. "Welcome to all students, new and old. As most of you know or will soon learn I am Professor Dumbledore. Last year we sent off some great wizards and witches." About half the room knew he meant Harry Potter and his group, along with his adversary, Draco Malfoy's group. "This year we will wish well to even more, as we send them off but for those who leave more will arrive." His eyes flickered slightly towards Danah and she held her breath, but he continued, "But we still have several months and for some several years before we get rid of you." Most gave a small laugh releasing the tension in the air. "Enjoy your year students and the feast!" The hungry students cheered as their plates filled with food. Danah began to pick at the food and listen closely to the conversations, not entirely sure what they were about. "Dumbledore was acting strange during the ceremony. Wonder why?" a fourth year asked, severing himself some chicken. "I heard that Harry Potter has a relative here, but no one is supposed to know," a sixth year whispered excitedly looking around "Oh, come on, you can't be serious now, Justin. Harry was an only child and that's that. Hello I'm Ginny Weasley," a seventh year girl said extending a hand to Danah who took it, more out of instinct than greeting. Suddenly everyone seemed to notice the girl who had taken so long to be sorted. She had been forgotten by most during Dumbledore's speech. The whole table turned towards Danah as she introduced herself to Ginny. Then watched Ginny go back to the Gryffindor table. When they had turned towards Danah most had noticed the raven on her shoulder she was absentmindedly feeding. Danah was then approached by the boy beside her. "Hello my name is Drake Mondar, you're one of the first years, right?" "Yes, my name is Danah. Are you a first year, too?" Looking frankly surprised, Drake nodded his head and slid into a seat by her. He had dirty blond hair (Drannor told her) but it wasn't ruggedly arranged like most dirty blondes are. It was slicked back, as if he wanted to put it in a ponytail, the thought made Danah start giggling at him. His faced paled and he began frantically feeling his face for a flaw, but she grabbed his hands to make him stop. Ripping his hands from her he glared at her and snapped "What?! Why are you laughing?" The look on his face was so fierce she shut her mouth and resumed picking at her food remembering she had no advantage in this place. Drannor snapped his beak at Drake, who became immediately aware of the raven. Keeping his composure he asked stiffly, "What's with the bird? Is he your familiar?" Danah started to answer Drake but Drannor interrupted her thoughts Go ahead and tell them I am your 'familiar'. We don't know whom to trust She nodded and told Drake about Drannor and he told her about his perfect Pureblood family until the deserts came out and Drake got up to move back down the table to his other friends. While she was eating her pudding, she began studying the professors and answering the people around her who bombarded her with enquires. Most of them were first years trying to get rid of any left over nerves and so she willingly answered the questions and those she couldn't Drannor was always there to tell her exactly what to say. "As I was saying my brother told me most of the classes will be a breeze and that luckily for us the only hard one, potions, the head of our house is the Potion's Master and he is always favoring us." Linsha Malfoy was saying. Danah listened to Linsha because after Drake had left she had befriended Danah. Danah had already listened for almost an hour as Linsha told every one about her family. She was a Pureblood with ties to all the old families. Her cousin was none other than Draco Malfoy who had himself a reputation in the Slytherin house. Everyone at the table seemed to know who this was but Danah had no idea and placed the name in her to find out box. "Lin, who are all the professors?" Danah asked during a pause. Linsha looked almost crushed that her new friend didn't know, but was happy to inform her, "Well in the middle is Dumbledore, which as you know, is the Headmaster. That's McGonagall, Transfiguration; then Sprout, Herbology; there's the Charm's teacher can't think of his name. ah bloody, you'll meet them all eventually but there's Snape he's our Head of the House and Potion's ." Linsha continued to talk but Danah was still going over the teachers she noticed an empty seat, before the perfects ushered them towards the dungeons. They were shown their dorms and Danah immediately fell asleep on her bed 


	3. Secret Revealed

Drannor awoke at the break of dawn, as usual. Shaking the dirt and what not from his feathers he watched the sun peek shyly over the rim of the lake, reviling the first and longest shadows of the day. The raven waited until the sun was half way up and shinning brightly on the lake before flying over to his mistress' bed. Pushing the curtain aside he fluttered over to her head and cooed softly until she smiled. Opening her eyes she playfully pushed him away and on hearing him fly off she pushed the covers back, silently beginning her day. After a hot shower, she gathered her books and tossed them into a black bag with a silver serpent glowing noticeable on its surface. On her way out of the dorm room door she shuffled some extra parchments and inkbottles in the bag then whistled quietly for Drannor, who landed on her shoulder to help her down the stairs. The common room was completely empty. Drannor left her shoulder to stretch his still semi-sleep filled wings. Danah paused her mad rush to the room's secret door to sit in a dark green chair and dig out her schedule. Her first class was Charms and then Transfiguration. She didn't have Potions until Thursday with Care of Magical Creatures. At least I will have my two favorite classes on the same day she thought to herself. Putting the schedule back into her bag, she pushed open the trap door, and found herself in the dungeons. She began walking, although she wasn't sure where she was going. Drannor flew overhead incase she needed him to guide her in the dark dungeons, but she seemed to be doing fine so maybe, just maybe the shadowy vision she lived with was improving. Danah looked up struggling to see in the dungeons but she couldn't see Drannor anywhere, so her only guide was the occasional torch. Every time she looked ahead she saw a dark hole with an occasional gray shadow she could only assume was a torch. Her mind told her she was going to get lost but like when she had lost her sight her soul seemed to guide her feet towards the exit of the dungeons. Light flooded her vision and for a few minutes all she saw was white, her vision always took longer than people's eyes to adjust to drastic changes in light. Danah shuddered involuntary, like she always did, as the vision returned. Are you ok Danah? Drannor asked seeing her tremble from above. "Yes, that always happens when I go from very dark places to bight places.I have yet to figure out how to stop it." She answered the long empty corridor. It had long past since she had grown accused to strange looks from people who saw her talking to herself and had almost come to expect it. Before she had accepted others' looks she had refused to acknowledge Drannor when he spoke to her, but after she had gotten into trouble, long story short, by not answering him when she had not heard him, she had decided if she was willing to accepted her chance to see the world again, she would also have to accept the looks that came with her helper, Drannor.  
  
No one was in the hall to see her but she had an uneasy feeling of being watched. Of course, she shrugged it off as being jitters at being in a new and unfamiliar place, because Drannor would tell her if there was danger. Finally she saw the doors to the great hall. She whistled to Drannor and he landed on her right shoulder as always. Causiously she pushed open the stone door, and was quite surprised to see only a few people in the hall, there was only five people. Two of them were teachers and the other three were students who were bent over books nibbiling on begals or a piece of fruit. No one looked up when she came in so she walked confidently over to the table she had been at yesterday and sat down. A great pile of food appeared in front of her. Drannor hungrily eyed a bagel with sesame seeds on it, noticing Danah took him off her shoulder and pulled out the temporary perch she had built to be put anywhere. He cackled gratefully before ripping a piece of the bread off to eat. Smiling slightly she took a great swig of orange juice and grabbed a muffin. About a half hour later students in groups or two or three began appearing in the hall. There were still only five teachers up at the high table. Most of the student who came in looked half asleep and several snapped at friends who asked them something or began to tease them. Drannor was dosing peacefully on the perch. Danah looked at the perch as if she had never seen it before. It was beautiful. The perch stood on three legs like a stool. A center pole went up about a foot and the over about half a foot, where Drannor sat dosing. It looked like any other perch might, accept that the pole was made of three slender, weightless- pure silver poles twisted around each other, with engravings. The perch also had magic of its own, because one could set it anywhere and the bird would be able to sit on the perch comfortable. It would even hang upside down or stick to a wall, without the person having to put a spell or something to hold it up. By bending it you could easily put it in a robe pocket or carry it, then unbend it making it as good as new. Danah couldn't believe she had made such a thing while she was blind! One day, when she was about nine, she had just had the urge to build it. She hadn't even known what she was doing because Drannor had not been able to talk with her yet. Like everything else in her life it had developed. "Long time no see," a voice said in Danah's ear dragging her out of her thoughts. Looking up she saw Cole's smiling face and grin slightly before replying "Yes, seeing as how we didn't get into the same house" "Yeah, was that bloody bad luck or what? I mean I hoped we would be in the same house so we could.you know talk more.on the train you seemed interesting and smart.so I thought you might be able to help me." ".With homework?" she interrupted, knowing that's not what he had wanted. She had found out from other Slytherins that Cole was into Quidditch and tryouts were soon for all teams. " Well yeah." he said blushing slightly "If you need help with anything and I can help I will, don't worry" "Well now that that's cleared up" his face showed clear relief at not having to explain himself "What's it like in to be a Slytherin? Do they curse you and tortureyou.? Or do they make you go through horribletestsjusttogetinthedorm" he had been talking so fast his words ran together, he lowered his voice to a whisper when several third year Slytherins looked up "You do have dorms right?" "Of course we have dorms!" Danah said through her laughter "no they don't torture me! What an absurd idea, where did you hear it from?" "Why Edmund Knott told me! Although now that I think about it he is always kind of jumpy and a little." Suddenly he saw the absurdness in it and laughed, too. Cole continued to stand even when she asked him to have a seat. She didn't understand it but let him do what he wanted. They talked for half an hour until a ruddy voice sneered behind them "Danah is McNeal bothering you?" Drake smiled at Danah and then turned a glare towards Cole who backed up slightly. Danah looked over her shoulder at Drake and with his three friends behind him the image of a hill surrounded by mountains came to mind. She smiled back at Drake and said "No Drake he is not bothering me. We were talking about classes, so if you would back off, please. I can talk without a babysitter you know." "No.no. no need I was just leaving. I will talk to you later Danah" Cole said turning on his heels and walking back towards his table. Sneering at Cole's back Drake took a seat right of Danah and began to talk to her like nothing had happened "You enjoying your time here?" "Of course, although its only been a day. Linsha is very nice even if she does have a non-stop mouth" "Yeah I know our families are connected to each other, so we have been friends for a long time" Drake commented picking up a glass of juice to drink. The mountains sat down around him but left a space on his direct right side. Just then Linsha came in and spotted them, quickly walking over she began speaking "Damn Danah you were up early, girl! I mean I was told the early risers in the group were just getting up when you left. What's up with that?" She took a seat to Danah's left and grabbed some sausages, without pausing "You got up early if you beat Vierna from getting up, you would have to get up at dawn to do that!" Drake said in addition to Linsha's comment "Well I always get up that early, I mean there's nothing wrong with it." Danah said looking at Linsha. "You always get up that early.when do you sleep! If we had homework or something I could understand getting up to finish it but for no reason?" Linsha said taking a bite of her sausage. " Its really no big deal I am just an early riser. I don't like to waste any part of the day" Danah replied. In reality she had always got up that early, ever since she had lost her sight because it was hard to tell the time when your world was always dark. When she had gotten her shadow vision shapes were most easily distinguished at dust and dawn so she was always up. Now she just did it out of habit, with Drannor's help. Danah there is a Slytherin boy the same age as you heading this way. I don't recognize him Drannor suddenly spoke and opened his eyes to look around. Most of the teachers were at the table talking and eating. Only a few were empty and one of them was the same one that had been empty all last night. Drannor watched the boy approach. He carried himself gracefully, with defenses at their fullest in every step. His footing was always sure and he wore a half blank half grim expression. The boy was a little taller than Danah but shorter then Drake's bodyguards. With death black hair and royal blue eyes he might have been considered handsome if he would smile or look even slightly interested in the life around him. Time seemed past him by and he didn't even glance over his shoulder to see what he was missing out on. Silently and unnoticed he slipped in the seat on the right side of Drake and looked over the table taking in everything in one glance. Drake noticed the boy beside him and brightened at the sight of the closest thing he ever had had to a best friend. "Morning Shatend" he said. "Drake" the boy said with a curt nod. Danah watched the shadow of the boy come towards the table without ever truly looking at him. She had discovered that one good thing about her shadow vision was if she concentrated hard enough she could see behind her or anywhere out of what had become her normal vision. The greeting between the two boys was not what she had expected by their friendly body language towards each other. It puzzled her but Drake called Danah from her thoughts to introduce her to Shatend and vice versa. "Danah this is Shatend Baenre, a fellow Slytherin and Pureblood. Shatend this is Danah.she is the one who took a while at the hat." Drake said "Yes I know, I not only saw the ceremony but was part of it" Shatend replied, his voice so emotionlessly Danah narrowed her eyes at him. The group continued to talk, but Shatend never took part in the conversation, he ate in silence and then sat at the table listening to the conversation. Danah watched him, by looking at him every now and then because her shadow vision wouldn't allow her to see him out of the corner of her eye. "Danah lets go we have Charms first and we want to get seats in the back." Linsha said pulling Danah's arm towards the door. She whistled and Drannor landed on her shoulder, Shatend seemed to notice her when he saw the raven land on her. Shatend watched her be pulled down the hall by Linsha and then followed behind the girls with Drake. He had noticed when he had first glanced at her the green eyes that haunted her face looking everywhere and nowhere, all at once. They had a distant look in them as if she wasn't looking at the same thing as everyone else. As if she saw the world differently. "Drake, why does she have a raven?" Shatend asked his friend. "You know, I am not really sure." Drake answered stopping in the hall. "She had him at the sorting and he is always by her side. We all figured he was a devote familiar. By the way she calls him something like Draino or Danor or something like that." "Drannor" "Huh?" "Drannor, she calls him Drannor" Shatend said irritated at his friend's ignorance, while heading towards the Charms' hallway. Drake looked curiously at him and Shatend replied to his unspoken question. "I saw her this morning and I thought she was talking to herself but when I saw the raven this morning I knew she had been talking to him." ~ * * * ~ Her classes past uneventfully that day, except for in Transfiguration where a boy from Hufflepuff had caught his feather on fire instead of turning it into a twig. In Charms they had just listened to Professor Flitwick talk about different kinds of Charms and then they had been given time to work on their homework. At dinner Danah listened to the conversation around her but found she kept pulling herself away from everyone to watch the world. The headmaster seemed happy enough with the first day of school. He was talking with the teachers beside him with great determination to look interested. The Herbology teacher didn't seem to notice, and neither did the mistress of Quidditch, Madam Hooch. ".So no one has seen him?" "No not even the older students" "No one has seen who?" Danah asked becoming aware of the conversation They are talking about the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher; Danah.No one has seen him. His classes don't start until tomorrow and even then he is going backwards per say. Drannor answered her. Danah concentrated and was quite surprised to see she could talk to Drannor easily, maybe being in a magic place enhanced her powers. What do you mean? Well he is dealing with the seventh and sixth years all tomorrow then fourth and fifth Wednesday and so on How is that possible, we only have two classes a day and no free time She asked puzzled at the enhanced ability she had and how the professor was suppose to make this work. The first years have longer days then other years I have noticed. Longer classes I guess you would say. Drannor broke off in the middle of his sentence and Danah felt him tense up on her shoulder. Looking around with her shadow vision she noticed the boy.ummm.Shatend watching her. Immediately she turned her glared upon him, only to find him continue to stare at her with an expressionless face. Several minutes past and then Drannor spoke to her again, but quietly than he ever had, as if he feared the boy would overhear. I will watch him She nodded slightly to show him she understood and then turned her attention back to the group of people who had adopted her. They were talking about the day's events, which she had no true interest in so she said her goodnights and the headed downstairs to the dungeons. When she made it to the Great Hall's doors she paused to look back over the room. Dumbledore was looking at her, Cole was chatting with three Gryffindors and the rest of the Slytherins were back to talking amongst them selves. When she got to the end of the hall she heard a shout behind her "Danah, wait up!" In the next instant Cole was beside her. Sliding his arm around her shoulders, brushing Drannor off, he asked "So how was your day?" "It was ok I guess.I mean I didn't get lost thanks to Linsha and Drake and that helped make my day better. What about you?" Danah said accepting his arm as a sign of friendship. "It was good. We had flying lessons. That class is at the top of my fun list but Potions was bloody horrible. That teacher needs to learn some serious people skills. Or at least make an attempt to enjoy life. I mean he is like so." He stopped and seemed to notice that he was not only talking to Danah but a Slytherin and felt slightly guilty. They were almost to the dungeons and he pulled her back away from the maze of tunnels. "If you need anything just come find me.the Gryffindor password is Butterbur. Don't hesitate to come in if something happens or you just need to talk, alright?" "Sure" she said back. Although she was curious about his words, she was glad for his friendship.she got the impression none of the Slytherins would ever do that. Turning Danah walked down the tunnel and Drannor landed on her shoulder and began directing her were to go, since she couldn't see anything even with the torches. Cole watched her go and the headed back to the great hall. He didn't know what to think about her. Something was different about her from everyone not just girls but from everyone he had ever met. At least now she knew she had a friend to turn to, even if it wasn't someone in her house. Danah.what a strange name, wonder what it means he thought to himself. Deep in his thoughts Cole didn't notice the shadow of a boy slip past him, following Danah down the dark corridor. ~ * * * ~ Dumbledore watched Danah go and when he spotted the raven still on her shoulder he knew it was time. He would send for her in a few days. Linsha and Drake also watched Danah leave the Hall and upon seeing the boy go after her argued over whether or not to put up the chase. Drake wanted to go and make sure a filthy Gryffindor wasn't making trouble but Linsha wanted to let them be, after all the Gryffindor was probably just going to his common room. By the time they finished arguing almost two hours had past and they decided to wait until they were dismissed to go to their common rooms. ~ * * * ~ Up ahead there are four passages. You need to go in the one second to the right Drannor informed Danah. Consciously she made her way to the right and when Drannor didn't say anything she walked down the tunnel. The trap door is. "Hello Danah" a collected voice said from behind her, interrupting Drannor, who screeched and gripped on to Danah's shoulder tighter. Turning around she looked into the blackness and felt a vulnerability she hadn't felt since she had lost her vision. Something in her recognized the voice and so she too stayed collected and made a reply. "Evening Shatend" She felt the air tingle as he recovered from the shock that she had known who he was. "Going to the common room?" "Yes, I wanted to converse with my thoughts", she said calmly now that she knew who it was. "Ah.as was I. May I escort you?" he said in the same collected voice. She nodded tiredly and he held out his arm. She accepted it, much to Drannor's dismay. The two arrived at the trap door and Shatend snapped the password at the trap door and then reached down and opened it. He gestured towards the door and Danah stepped down into it with Drannor's help. Calmly she walked over to the fire and sat down on a dark green chair, sending Drannor over to the banister to watch the play. Shatend strolled over to the chair Danah was sitting in and sat across from her on a couch. The two sat there in silence for several minutes and then Danah spoke. "What were you really doing down here?" "I was coming to the common room to relax." He persisted "Don't lie to me what were you doing down here?" she demanded quietly. She said it so calmly and softly he, for the first time in his life wished she had yelled at him, cursed him, anything so he wouldn't have to tell her. Instead of yelling though she had whispered and he instead of lying again told her the truth, starting a life-long friendship between the two. "I wanted to talk to you," he simply said. She thought she had prepared herself for any answer he could give but she had not counted on this one. It stunned her. Never had anyone but Drannor ever wanted to talk to her before Hogwarts. "Oh well what did you want to ask me about?" she said trying to recover "I was wondering about your raven, Drannor isn't it? There is a strange relationship between the two of you, what is it?" "Yes, I call him Drannor.I don't think we have a very strange relationship" "I think you do. This morning you were talking to him as if he was answering you." Shatend insisted "I always talk to him that way." She said without missing a beat. "Strange way to talk to a familiar" "He is not a familiar!" She said in blind outrage. "What is he then" Shatend whispered, a gleam in his eye. Danah, you can't tell anyone if you don't want them to know! Drannor cried in shock. Calming herself she looked Shatend in the eyes and said "He is more than a familiar. Drannor is my friend. He was my only friend before I came here." "That's not all though is it? He or maybe you.there is something about one of you.there's a connection," He said slowly measuring his words. "What are you talking about, Shatend?" Danah said, freighting innocence. "Unless I am wrong, and I rarely am, it is him that has an extra power, and I guess I should say, that gives the two of you a connection. Am I right?" "This must be a rare time because you are wrong." Danah said coolly "Hummm.maybe.but I so very much doubt it." "Well believe it," she said wishing at this very moment she could talk to Drannor. She had tried several times while talking with Shatend and it wasn't working. She didn't even know where he was and being that she couldn't see him, scared her a little. "Why won't you tell me?" "One it's not true. If it were true I wouldn't tell you because I don't know you. I have only even seen you three times. Pardon me for using that as a reason not to tell a stranger something" She was getting irritated and her sarcasm began to show through. He heard the irritation in her voice and knew he was starting to get under her skin. If he could keep her talking for a while longer he might be able to find out why she was so different from everyone he knew. "What do you want to know?" "It's not that simple." "Yes I think it is." He said with a smile she would never see. Drannor had watched the whole thing from his perch waiting for his chance to speak with his mistress. She would never tell the world her secret, even those close to her she didn't fully trust. Something about this boy was different though, he had magic radiating off of him in heavy waves. Not that it was unusually in this place but the amount he had was like that of a teacher, not a student. Drannor watched as they talked about everything. They were becoming quick friends. The students will be back soon, Danah "Ok" She said breaking the silence that had over taken her and Shatend conversation. Shatend's head shot up and he remembered why he had confronted her originally "What did you say?" He whispered hiding his smile in the shadows "Nothing, I better get to bed." "No you said something I heard you." " I better go to bed and it would do a crazy guy like you good, to get to bed." She said and stood up, heading for the stairs. Danah got to the stairs and quicker than a cat Shatend crossed the room and pushed her against the wall. Drannor screeched and flew towards the students in alarm, talons stretched out. "Tell me what that bird can do" Shatend said releasing her after realize what he was doing. Although Danah couldn't see she sensed Shatend's anger and then sudden frustration. She felt him release her and without thinking spoke to him "He. I...He can talk to me." What are you doing? Danah don't tell him anymore, trust me on this Drannor shouted landing on her shoulder. "I agree" she whispered and then looked over to see Shatend's reaction. He smiled a knowing smile and said "Is that your only secret?" he walked over to her and looked down at her, noticing one that she didn't cower down in his presence, like most and her eyes still had that far away look, even though she was staring right at him. Drannor cackled and glared up at him. "Yes" she said, still calm. "I better get to bed then." he walked away from her and towards the stairs to the guys dormitory. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder and whispered "You don't have to be afraid of me, Danah" then turned and continued up the stairs to the first year rooms. Danah waited until he was gone and then walked up stairs, confused. She hadn't been able to fully see Shatend in the dim light but she had heard his last words, even though he hadn't meant her to. Also he hadn't asked her much about Drannor after she had told him about being able to talk to her. Something in her suspected he had just wanted confirmation on his guess. As she trudged up stairs, Drannor silent on her shoulder, it occurred to her that he could tell everyone and she would be ruined. With a heavy mind she sat down at the desk in the room she shared with the other first years Slytherin girls and started her Transfiguration homework. It wasn't very hard and she finished it with ease. With heavy thoughts she found her way to her bed just as the other girls began to come upstairs to the dorm. A slight rhythmic click sounded in the quite room and Drannor spoke to her There is a silver owl at the window, carrying what looks like a rolled up piece of parchment, Danah "I hear him.guide me to the window please" she said getting up. Upon seeing the window open the owl flew in. He stuck out his leg, quite mad that he had been woken up to fly just across the school. She untied the parchment and sent the owl off just as the other girls came in. Seeing Danah by the window with a letter Linsha called out a hello. Several other girls said hello too and noticing her letter came over to stand by her. Danah smiled at them but silently wanted to be alone. She laughed at her own irony and the others turned to look at her curiously. It was ironic she had been alone for almost three years except for Drannor and now all she wanted to do was be alone. Linsha caught Danah's feeling and shooed the other girls away and off to bed. Danah grateful for the help let Linsha come over and read the letter over her shoulder. The letter shook her up so much she had to read it twice before she realized what it was about.  
  
Dear Miss Danah, I have noticed your coming and goings around the school and would appreciate it very much if you would grace me with your presence Friday after classes. You may bring Drannor if you wish. (Not that you need my permission to bring him along) Just keep him under control for I have a phoenix and they don't have the greatest history, ravens and phoenixes, that is. The password is Carmel Cats. See you Friday afternoon. Professor Dumbledore  
  
"Wonder what he wants. Any idea Danah?" Linsha said after rereading the letter "Danah?" Danah was staring at the letter as if it was a snake that was ready to strike. He knew! That was the only explanation. Had Shatend told him.no Shatend said she could trust him.she snapped back to reality and answered Linsha "No Lin I don't. Do you know if he does this often?" "I don't think so but I will ask so of the older students" "No Lin please don't I really don't want anyone to know he sent me this letter.can you keep this quite? Please Lin?" Danah begged her friend. "Yeah sure Danah, after all what's the point of having a friend if you can't tell them secrets!" Then Linsha did something Danah would never forget again and something she hadn't felt since before she lost her vision. Linsha hugged her. So with Shatend's, Dumbledore's and Linsha's words echoing in her head Danah said good night to Drannor and Linsha and fell into a disturbing sleep. 


	4. Classes and The Forest

Shatend went down stairs the next morning with Danah's words echoing in his head. How could the raven talk to her? Something is very wrong about this. Only old families have ravens as familiars and even then usually they don't have ones that can actually communicate with them! He didn't doubt the bird could talk to the girl, the raven did have the silver eyes, but he didn't think she had told him everything. Shatend also had his doubts as to why the bird was with her. Danah didn't act like the others with old families so he came to believe she wasn't from an old family. It would just be another puzzle for him to figure out. The table designated for Slytherins was almost full of students eager for the up coming day. The first years talked excitedly while most of the seventh years looked about nervously, they had Defense Against Dark Arts first with Ravenclaws. Shatend actually thought it was funny that the seventh years appeared afraid of a teacher but easily hid it as he past them on his way to his seat. Shatend took his seat next to Drake who was talking to Danah in fluent German. Drake's family had lived in Germany for several years before they moved here and in the time they had lived in Germany he had learned how to say just about anything in German. The Slytherin boy shook his head thinking Danah would be Drake's new project; Drake had made several girls already fall for his charms. Suddenly he heard Danah's voice and realized she was talking back to Drake.in German. Slowly he turned his attention from his breakfast to Drake and Danah, who seemed to know German better than Drake. Having been around Drake most of his life Shatend too knew some German and picked up pieces of their conversation while the rest of the first years looked on. After catching a few pieces of the conversation Shatend determined they were talking about where they each had learned to speak the language. Danah broke off talking to Drake in German when she noticed everyone watching them. Drake just smirked, he liked attention. The bell rang, sending the students off to class. The Slytherin seventh years went in front of the Ravenclaws who all had a sudden lose of memory. The rest of the school filed out and went their separate ways. Dumbledore watched the students' uneasiness and laughed to himself. Kids he thought while walking towards his office. A lone screech sounded above him. Looking up he spotted a black figure flying overhead. Startled he blinked, and followed the raven with his eyes, disbelieving the bird had left the girl's side. Morning Emrys a familiar voice sounded in his head before the bird disappeared from view. A flame formed in the old wizard's eye when he heard the voice and memories came back in a rush. ~ * * * ~ The wizard who now claimed the spot of headmaster had only been a boy back then. The sun had just set and Albus Dumbledore was out when he shouldn't have been. Trees whispered around him, some in greeting but most in warning, but not to him. They called warning to their master someone would die tonight. Young Albus, though, was oblivious to their whispers and trudged on looking for.something. He hadn't been sure what he was looking for only that he would find it deep in the forest, surrounded by danger. Danger had always attracted him. The thrill of the hunt when you were the hunted, the ecstasy in.the boy stopped sensing eyes around him. ~ * * * ~ "Albus? Are you alright?" a voice belonging to Professor McGonagall said after seeing the Headmaster standing in the hall for several minutes in a daze. "Yes.yes, Minerva I am fine." Dumbledore replied coming out of his trance. The two teachers departed towards their separate rooms.  
  
~ * * * ~ Danah sat in Herbology taking notes on the behaviors of several water plants, which could do one of two things. They could kill you or cure you depending on how they were grown. Professor Sprout said they wouldn't be using the plants for anything this year but the students would be expected to know all about them for next year. "But professor if we don't have to even use them until next year why are we learning about them now?" A first year Ravenclaw girl asked. "There is much to learn about these plants. I have to fit years of teaching into a year along with everything else I need to teach you students. You will never know all you need to know about them if I didn't start teaching you about them now. Back to the lesson, the fifth one is called." Danah felt Drannor land on her shoulder as several students turned to watch the bird. It was only day two so she could not expect them to already be use to him but she wished they would stop staring at her every time she entered a room or he flew over to her. Several whispered about her. Special privileges they said. Students didn't take their pets with them to class...but she did. Drannor looked over at her parchment and noticed they were talking about the delicate five. Some people said that the five were all a hoax and that no matter what they would kill, for few had seen it heal. The raven was one of those few. Shatend turned with the rest of the class when Drannor appeared by Danah's side. The boy knew eventually they would get use to the bird but for now he seemed to break an unspoken rule. Familiars weren't allowed in the classrooms. Of course since the rule was unspoken no one could say anything about the bird being with Danah but it scared some people and made others jealous. "Can anyone tell me what I mean when I say how the plant is grown determines if it will heal or harm?" The professor asked. No one said anything. They had only heard rumors about the plants. Just recently enough had been discovered about the plants to allow the schools to teach about them, even so little was know about them except to experts. So it surprised everyone, including the professor and Drannor, when Danah raised her hand. Even so the professor nodded to Danah as a signal to answer. "The plants are very hard to grow. They require being in the water as seeds but when they mature they must be out of the water or they will drown. After they have been moved out of the water they must have large amounts of water or they will die. Once they are mature, though, their purpose has already been decided. To determine the purpose of the plant one must look at how it was raised. If the person who planted it was pure of soul and mind the plant will heal, but if the person had a tainted soul or mind the plant will kill. Even if they start out good many become bad when a tainted person takes care of them before they have fully matured. Elves are one of the only races that can successfully raise the plants to heal," Danah said with the air of someone not fully in the room, like ghost, someone who lives in the past. The whole class, including the professor, looked at her dumbstruck. After recovering from the first wave of shock the professor agreed with her and then continued with the lesson. Many of the students watched Danah for a long time before turning their attention to the professor again. When the professor had her back turned Shatend slid over to Danah. "What was that all about?" he asked hiding his wonder but showing a slightly new respect for her. "I am not sure. When she asked the question I began to think about it. It sounded so familiar and I almost reached why, in my mind but then it slipped from me. I thought I was going to faint or something.everything became dark and I couldn't see with my mind. The next thing I knew I was speaking words I didn't even know I had in me!" His mind whispered she had let something slip but he ignored it and spoke to her again. "So you don't know where you learned that? No clue? Maybe you heard it at a bar or from your parents?" "No I haven't the slightest clue. But I can tell you it wasn't from any of the places you mentioned." "Normally I would suggest you might have read it in a book long ago and forgot about it but.not with this." He sighed and tried to concentrate on the lesson, which had shifted to something from their books on basic herbs used in potions. Shatend had his mind on the class after lunch when he noticed Danah wasn't looking at the book to do her work. They were writing an essay on some simple herbs like garlic and basil. Any Muggle could tell you about these herbs but few could tell you their magic properties. Shatend saw Danah wasn't even looking at the book. Then he noticed Drannor looking unblinkingly at the book. So she is using the bird, but why? He thought to himself. The boy considered asking his friend about it, but the bell rang and Danah disappeared in the shuffle to get out. After classes Shatend went straight to the library to work on his homework. He had put off his Transfiguration homework the day before and figured he needed to work on it. Instead he found himself looking through the books, trying to find something to explain why she had a raven familiar. More importantly how the raven could talk to her. Shatend spent the rest of his evening going through books, his homework forgotten, along with dinner. ~ * * * ~ Danah walked out of Herbology in a slight daze. How had I known that? She walked up to the castle but didn't go in.not yet she needed to talk to Drannor, privately. The girl wondered about the grounds for several minutes before spotting the forest by it. Something was summoning her to it. Obediently she followed the voice. Drannor saw the forest from afar and prayed she didn't go by it. He didn't think she would go in it but he didn't want his mistress anywhere near that place. When she turned towards the forest and entered, he panicked. Drannor shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder, his secret warning, but the call was too strong. She continued down the path only she could see. At first the forest was quite, gradually it got louder. Drannor tried to ignore it but finally gave up and took flight, startling Danah out of her trance; Drannor had never left her before. Danah stopped dead in her tracks, something was wrong; she could fell it, now. Turning back the way she came, Danah calmly walked until she realized that she was going in circles. Dread gripped her as she grasped the fact that she was lost. What was worse is Drannor had left her. Betrayal and a great sadness fell upon her as she took a seat against the nearest tree. Eventually she fell asleep. In fact Drannor had fled at first but when he remembered Danah he stopped himself and went back to find her, he couldn't let his past haunt him, scare him from Danah, his mistress. When he found her, even from his height above the trees, he could read the pain and anger she felt. Hovering above the treetops he followed her. Always on the look out for danger to either of them. As Danah settled down by a tree Drannor heard the voices he always heard in the woods. Voices from the trees. Fighting them off for Danah's sake he settled down on a silent tree to keep watch. Danah awoke with a start but was immediately calmed when she felt Drannor's presence by her. It was then she noticed how quiet the forest had become. Instinctively she tensed for an attack, as three figures jumped out from behind surrounding trees. Holding her breath Danah watched them circle her. With a start she realized what they were. Centaurs! The creatures had the body of a horse and the upper torso of a human. All three had black horses but only two of them had the torso of a man. The leader, it seemed, had a woman's torso. "Why have you come to our forest?" One of the males asked. Standing up and looking at all three with what she had learned to be a confident air she said, "I was called" "You were called? Impossible" the other male exclaimed tossing his head. "I was called, but then I got lost." She spoke calmly, not revealing, with her eyes, Drannor, to them. Her efforts were in vain though for the female could sense Drannor, even if she didn't call him the same as Danah. Mentally she called to him. When he refused to answer she threatened to reveal him to the others. Although he didn't like being threatened he knew he had to answer for Danah. When she finished confirming her story about the raven she spoke for the girl, knowing, too, who she was. "She was called" "Pardon?" The first male who had spoken asked. "Look at Venus tonight." The female answered steadily, while eyeing the star. All five looked up. Danah and Drannor didn't see what was so special about the star but the other two centaurs gasped aloud. Glancing at their leader for conformation, at which she nodded, they bowed to Danah and begged her forgiveness. Willingly she gave it to them but wondered what they had seen that she hadn't. "We give you leave of our forest." The female said to the shock of everyone else including the other centaurs that knew Danah's past. The males quickly whipped their faces clean of expressions and turned back to Danah as the female left, quiet as the wind. "Would you like us to escort you, miss?" One of the males asked politely. "Sure" Danah answered expecting to be lead back to Hogwarts. Instead they lead her to a pond. Turing on their heels they took leave of her. "Wait, why was I called? Who called me?" Danah said not understanding she was on the other side of Hogwarts. "Venus is unusually dim tonight, perhaps you should look at it again tomorrow." The second male spoke as the first disappeared from view. "What?" Danah replied, "I don't know how to read the stars" "Andromeda shines very brightly tonight." With a shake of his head the centaur left. Danah looked up at the stars and tried to see what he saw that she didn't. Drannor landed on her shoulder and she looked over at him but didn't say anything. Drannor already knew what he had done and he felt atrocious. With Drannor back she easily found her way to the castle, but she didn't feel like going to the common room and since dinner was over she was hungry. Danah there is a cat headed this way and she looks up to no good perhaps we should go to your dorm room? The raven suggested. "No, I don't want to go back there right now.I need to find out who or what Andromeda is" She replied knowing exactly where she was going. After several back turns Danah found herself in front of a portrait of a fat lady. The lady glanced over at her and then straightened when she saw it was a student. "Wait a minute! You are not a Gryffindor! What are you doing here? Get lost or something?" "Aren't you going to ask me the password?" Danah said irritated "Of course not! Why you are a Slytherin, why should I let you in my common room?" "Well first of all it's not your common room and two I know the password. Butterbur" Danah said sweetly. "What? How? But?" While the Fat Lady was trying to figure out how she knew the password Danah walked into the Gryffindor common room. It had been over a hundred years since a Slytherin had been in the Gryffindor common room. So it was no surprise to Danah when the Gryffindors reacted the way they did. Several glared at her as a group of three approached her. "What are you doing in our common room, filth?" A fifth year asked sneering at Danah. Instead of answering him she walked past as if she hadn't heard. The boy glared at her back and then jogged to catch up to her. "I asked you a question, first year!" The boy yelled. Now the whole common room was watching with interest after recognizing Danah from the night of the sorting ceremony. "And I chose to ignore you" she said evenly, which through the boy off guard. Anger built up in him and he went to grab her arm but was met with a curse that knocked him off his feet. Danah looked down at the boy with pity, then turned and headed to the boys dorm, since she hadn't seen Cole in the common room. At the stairs though she was met with more resistance, but it was not violent like the previous. "Are you in our common room for a reason?" a girl asked calmly. She looked to be a second or third year. "Actually yes I need to talk with Cole McNeal, could you tell me where his room is?" Danah said looking over her shoulder at the rest of the room. "No" the girl said "No? Well then could you move out of my way please?" Danah said smoothly, these Gryffindors were getting on her nerves. "You have caused quite a few problems here so if you could leave, it would be appreciated," the girl answered looking around for backup. Drannor tightened his grip on Danah's shoulder in warning, just as another more familiar voice called out. "What's going on here? Danah why are you in the Gryffindor common room?" Ginny Weasley asked. "I need to speak with Cole, Ginny. It's very important, please?" Danah said glaring at the shadow of the girl who stormed off at the sight of Ginny. Ginny studied the other girls face. She wasn't sure she trusted the girl but the fact that she had done nothing and had been able to get past the Fat Lady gave her a little credit. Just as Ginny was coming to a conclusion a male voice sounded above the group. "Danah? What's wrong?" Cole's voice was filled with anxiety. Danah wouldn't have come in the Gryffindor common room if it wasn't important. He had only known her a few days but trusted her with his life. The rest of the Gryffindors looked up at the concern in his voice for her. What? But she was a Slytherin! Cole sped down the stairs and wrapping an arm around Danah as he had done the day before lead her from the common room and to an empty classroom. The Gryffindors began whispering amongst themselves. Cole was very well liked, one of the most popular first years and yet here he was taking a Slytherin's side. Majority of the Gryffindors went off to bed not sure what to make of the scene they had just witnessed and knowing it would be all over school before lunch, and maybe breakfast. The group of Gryffindors who had been in their first Defense Against Dark Arts remained quiet about the teacher and seemed to be withdrawn form the rest. They would know soon enough.  
  
~ * * * ~ After Cole had seated Danah in a chair he went over to a desk and sat atop it, asking with concern in his eyes, "Danah, what is it?" "I wanted to know if you could tell me about Andromeda. I noticed you were interested in stars and the like." Her answer puzzled him because he knew something else was wrong but he answered anyway, wondering if maybe this had to do with why she wasn't at dinner. Also he couldn't remember ever telling her he enjoyed astrology. "Andromeda was a princess who everyone in her kingdom, including herself, thought she was more beautiful than a race of sea nymphs. The nymphs of this race, the Nereid I think.might have to look that up, anyway they were known for their beauty. When they heard the kingdom's claim they, being bloody jealous and snobby if you ask me, went and complained to the sea god, Poseidon. He wanting to please them, bastard, sent a monster after the kingdom. The king, wanting to save his own hide, sent the innocent girl to be a sacrifice for the sea god; in return that Poseidon would call off his monster. With me so far?" "Yeah I think so.what happened to the girl?" Something was clicking in her head and she didn't like what she saw. "Some show off saved her in exchange to marry her. He saved her the end" "A boy saved her?" "Yeah although some legends say she was injured in the battle" "She was injured?" fear struck through her. "Yeah some say she got her eyes burned out or something.others think she ended up blind." Cole stopped seeing Danah pale. Quickly her crossed the room, "What's wrong? Danah?" "I am fine, do you know anything about Venus?" she requested, trying to appear unfazed. "Not much, I mean she is a good luck type thing for all women. If a girl is born on a certain day she will posses great magic, and Venus is supposedly always watching out for her." He said backing off slightly, recognizing if he wanted the whole story he would have to answer her questions first. Hey, he was getting pretty good at reading her. "Do you know what happens when Venus is dim? Dimmer than usual, I mean?" "Well I have heard rumors that when Venus is very dim one of her prized humans or animals is being protected by someone or something she didn't send for. Also if Venus is really really dim the 'protector' may be evil, or not pure or whatever" he let her digest this before summoning a small meal. Silently the two ate, each pondering his own thoughts. Danah spoke in her mind to Drannor for several minutes, sorting things out before deciding to tell Cole about tonight. "I assume you wondered where I was tonight?" She said softly. His head shot up, all thoughts left behind, attention on her. "Yeah I was wondering where you had gone off to." His voice was steady but Drannor read the excitement in his features and pasted the information to Danah. She sighed before answering. Cole suddenly noticed she did that a lot. Sigh, as if she carried the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Somehow he would get her to open up to him or someone, she needed to talk, badly by the looks of it. She told Cole what had happened that night, leaving only a few parts out. When she finished he was staring at her. Regaining his composer something occurred to him, "Danah, did you get the centaurs names?" "No, why?" "Well Hagrid might be able to tell us more about them if you knew their names" he said lamely. Danah saw right through his lie but decided not to say anything. "Right well, I am off to bed.Can you find your way to the dungeons from here?" Cole said standing to stretch. Danah nodded and followed his example. Drannor eyed the boy and landed firmly of Danah's arm, he was tired of the boy always getting in his space. Cole saw the gesture and laughed, before leading them out of the room. After they dropped Cole off at the portrait, much to the dismay of the Fat Lady, Danah and Drannor made their way to the dungeons. "What do you think about the stars?" Danah spoke, breaking the silence. I think it is a bunch of non-sense, Stars telling the future? Right. Maybe you're right but it still seems strange. Danah said telepathically, she was getting better at this. What is so strange about it? Aside from the obvious, of course? Drannor shook his head realizing that she spoke to him in sentences now, not fragments. Danah laughed, and then spoke again, And what sir would the obvious be? For one, centaurs are brainless, lying, wannabe-astrol. "Drannor!" Danah shouted in the empty hall. Drannor ruffled his feathers. They continued to the common room in silence. Danah walked mutely into the common room, towards the stairs leading to the girl's dorm. When she noticed a black figure by the fire, hidden in the shadows. Although shocked that she had been able to see the form in this light she bravely approached the outline. Danah looked down at the shadow and saw it was a body, who though? The body appeared to have fallen asleep in the chair. Drannor who is that? She asked I believe it is that Shatend boy. Would you like me to wake him for you? Danah smiled slightly and she her head no as she continued on to her room. 'That Shatend boy' had not really been asleep just relaxing with his eyes closed. Shatend watched the duo go up the stairs and disappear in the shadows. Reflecting over his night he realized how late it must be. What is Danah doing out of bed? Shatend thought to himself before picking up the book beside him to resume his reading. The book, Fascinating Familiars and Their Attributes, had the most information on raven familiars as he could find. Looking down at the page he finished the page.  
  
.are well known to have silver eyes and unusually bluish-black feathers. Raven familiars can be found among the oldest of families.  
  
Unlike house elves ravens stay within a family name and not with a designated house. There are only 63 known raven familiars. Raven familiars are known for their ability to communicate with ones owner. When infact there have only been 10 known cases where the familiars could commune with their masters. There are no known cases of the master being able to commune back, telepathically. Raven familiars have a long through history recorded in the Ministry of Magic's documents. The most advanced ravens have the ability to read or sense a human's emotions and in wizards the ability to tell if they are truly good or bad, along with how effective their spells are or in children will be.  
  
Shatend began to wonder what was so special about Drannor. Minus the fact that he was a raven familiar there was something else about the raven and Danah for that matter. "What if she can talk back to him? Even though the book says it have never happened maybe that is what is so strange about them." Shatend whispered aloud. Although it sounded absurd it could be true. Suddenly he remembered his transfiguration homework and dashed out the door, heading towards the library. In his rush to get back to the common room with his book he had left the rest of his school things by the table. Halfway down the corridor leading to the library Shatend heard voices and swiftly ducked behind the closest suit of armor. "Seriously? I mean you're not kidding me are ya?" a female voice said. "no, I am not kidding you! The bitch was in our common room and bloody cursed me! I thought I was going to die. The agony was almost to much but I stood back up and demanded that she leave." "What did she do?" "the only thing she could, although I think it was pretty stupid, she stood up against me, wand raised and I swear she would have cursed me again if I hadn't been quicker. I pulled out my wand and finished her off with a stunning spell." in the shadows Shatend snickered, the boy who was bragging could be no older than a third year but he talked as if he had almost killed the intruder. Normally Shatend would have just left the two be and moved on but he wanted to see who the intruder was and what they were doing in this guys common room. ".and I dragged her out of the Gryffindor common room and tossed her to the ground and told her never to come back." The male finished. "Wow! That grime actually wanted to battle with us?" the female voice asked having been dragged in to the story. "Yup those damn Slytherins think they are better than the rest of us, probably trying to pull a prank of some vile sort. Can't believe them, so sad really that there are people like that in the world." The male said, forcing sadness into his voice. Shatend's blood boiled at his house being dissed even if he wasn't one for loyalties. "So who did you say the girl was again?" the girl asked seductively. Shatend perked his ears up and strained them to their fullest. "Let me think.oh yes.it was that first year Slytherin girl.ummm.oh yeah that Danah girl, you know the one whose parents are bribing the staff so she can have her death bird with her in class." Fury filled Shatend as he listened to the boy's last words. If it hadn't been so late he would have destroyed the boy for talking about Danah that way but being as it was late and that he was still trying to digest the information he had just heard he settled for a simple magic trick. Shatend conjured a loud bright pink bird over by the boy with just enough magic to last for two days. And just so the boy would know whom he had offended, as well as the rest of the student body, Shatend put a small necklace with the Slytherin snake on its chain around the bird's neck. Reeking with silently laughter Shatend hurried to the library picked up his stuff and practically ran back to the Slytherin common room, so none of the teachers headed towards the loud singing would catch him out of bed. Once safely there he considered going and asking Danah about what the boy had said but decided he could ask her tomorrow and started his homework. 


End file.
